BIBLE STUDY MANUALS: 2 KINGS CHAPTER 5: NAAMAN IS CURED OF LEPROSY AND UNFAITHFUL ISRAEL IS TAUGHT A LESSON

2 KINGS CHAPTER 5

NAAMAN IS CURED OF LEPROSY AND UNFAITHFUL ISRAEL IS TAUGHT A LESSON

INTRODUCTION

Thomas L. Constable states, (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, [BKC] Old Testament, Walvoord and Zuck Editors, Victor Books, USA, 1987, pp. 546-548):

"Elisha's [the prophet's] ministry expanded beyond the borders of Israel as recorded in this story of another miracle he performed."

[2 Kgs 5:1-27]:

(v. 1) "Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. he man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper.

(v. 2) Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman's wife.

(v. 3) She said to her mistress, 'I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.'

(v. 4) Naaman went in and told his master, saying, 'Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.'

(v. 5) Then the king of Aram said, 'Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.' He departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes.

(v. 6) He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, 'And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.'

(v. 7) When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, 'Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.'

(v. 8) It happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, 'Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.'

(v. 9) So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha.

(v. 10) Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, 'Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.'

(v. 11) But Naaman was furious and went away and said, 'Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.'

(v. 12) 'Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?' So he turned and went away in a rage.

(v. 13) Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, 'My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?'

(v. 14) So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.

(v. 15) When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, 'Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so please take a present from your servant now.'

(v. 16) But he said, 'As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing.' And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

(v. 17) Naaman said, 'If not, please let your servant at least be given two mules' load of earth; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.

(v. 18) 'In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter.'

(v. 19) He said to him, 'Go in peace.' So he departed from him some distance.

(v. 20) But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, 'Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not receiving from his hands what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.'

(v. 21) So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, 'Is all well?'

(v. 22) He said, 'All is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.'

(v. 23) Naaman said, 'Be pleased to take two talents.' And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him.

(v. 24) When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.

(v. 25) But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, 'Where have you been, Gehazi?' And he said, 'Your servant went nowhere.'

(v. 26) Then he said to him, 'Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants?

(v. 27) 'Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.' So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow."

[2 Kgs 1-6]:

NAAMAN A COMMANDER OF THE ARMY OF KING ARAM, FROM A NATION WHICH WAS OFTEN HOSTILE TO ISRAEL, CONTRACTS LEPROSY AND SEEKS A CURE FROM ISRAEL'S PROPHET ELISHA

(v. 1) Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. he man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper.

[BKC, cont.]:

"Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram, Ben-Hadid II (860-841 B.C.)... [Aram was often hostile to Israel, v. 2; 1 Kgs 11:23-25)]... Naaman was a successful and courageous warrior, highly regarded because of the victories God had given the Arameans under his leadership....

[Notice that God has turned His favor away from Israel because of her rejection of Him at this time - even providing for victory and even against Israel. God is making a point with Israel for turning her back on Him and He is doing it with this foreign commander and the army of Aram.

[Compare 1 Kgs 11:23-25]:

(v. 23) "And God raised up against Solomon [for forsaking Him, (vv. 1-13)] another adversary, Rezon son of Eliad, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah.

(v. 24) He [had previously] gathered men around him and became the leader of a band of rebels [but] when David destroyed the forces [of Zobah] the rebels went to Damascus, where they settled and took control [in the capital city, Aram].

(v. 25) Rezon was Israel's adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel."]

...However, he [Naaman] had leprosy... This dreaded disease degenerated its victims and eventually proved fatal. No cure for it was known. In Israel lepers were normally isolated from nonlepers, but this was not always the custom in other nations including Aram. Naaman was able to carry on his duties as long as the disease permitted him to do so]

(v. 2) Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman's wife....

[Notice that the Arameans were indeed still hostile to Israel, raiding on her villages and taking slaves]

(v. 3) She said to her mistress, 'I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.'

[BKC, cont.]:

"In the course of their occasional battles with Israel, Naaman's forces had captured some Israelites whom they made slaves. One of these was a young girl whom Naaman had given to his wife as a servant. Evidently Naaman and his wife were kind to this girl because she sought Naaman's welfare. She told her mistress, who told her husband, that a prophet living in Samaria could cure... leprosy. This was Elisha; he lived in a house in the capital city (6:24, 32). Probably the girl had heard of Elisha before she was carried off as a slave. Apparently she assumed he could cleanse leprosy in view of his supernatural power. No leper in Israel, though, was healed in Elisha's day...

[most likely reflecting God's judgment on the nation Israel's unfaithfulness]:

[Luke 4:24, 27]:

(v. 24) "I tell you the truth,' He [Jesus] continued, 'no prophet is accepted in his hometown."

(v. 27) "And [as a result of this unfaithfulness] there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed - only Naaman the Syrian."]

[BKC, cont.]:

"Later the slave girl's faith in the Lord may have been an indirect rebuke to Israel's King Joram who had no faith in God."

[2 Kgs 5:4-6]:

(v. 4) "Naaman went in and told his master, saying, 'Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.'

(v. 6) He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, 'And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.' "

NAAMAN SEEKS A CURE FROM ISRAEL'S PROPHET ELISHA

[BKC, cont.]:

"The Aramean king was anxious for his valuable commander to be cleansed, not only because he was a trusted friend but because the dreaded disease would eventually rob the king of his top military commander. Naaman set out to visit King Joram [of Israel] who he assumed would order the prophet to cure him. With him the commander took gifts of 10 talents (ca. 750 poinds) of silver, 600 shekels (ca. 150 pounds) of gold, and 10 sets of clothing, all prized gifts in the Near East. He also carried a letter from his king to Joram requesting in matter-of-fact terms that Naaman be cured."

[2 Kgs 5:7-8]:

(v. 7) "When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, 'Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.'

BUT ISRAEL'S KING WAS PARANOID, FEARING THAT NAAMAN HAD CONQUERING DESIGNS ON HIMSELF AND ISRAEL

[Instead of accepting all of this at face value, especially the great value of the gifts and the traditional and proper approach for such a request, King Joram became paranoid. He was so out of contact with God that instead of looking for an opportunity to bear witness to Naaman of the great God of Israel through the prophet Elisha, he instead, began to see plots and strategy against himself and Israel and he feared for his life. Israel was God's chosen people who were to be a witness and testimony to the world of Who He is; instead King Joram was so out of line with God that he trembled in fear and tore his clothing as a symbol of his great personal distress and fear for his life.

[BKC, cont.]:

"Joram was dismayed when he read the letter from Ben-Hadad II. Tearing one's robes indicated great anxiety and distress (cf. 2:12; 6:30; 11:14). Israel and Aram had been at peace, but it appeared to Joram that Ben-Hadad was trying to pick a fight again as he had done with Joram's father Ahab...

[during which time Israel's prophet foretold of God's intervention and favor toward Israel and Israel was victorious twice, (ref. 1 Kings chapter 20)]

... Joram did not realize that Naaman did not expect him to cure the leprosy. Elisha did not even enter Joram's mind. The Israelite king had no use for that prophet who constantly opposed him. Joram wanted as little contact with him as possible."

[2 Kgs 5:8-10]:

(v. 8) "It happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, 'Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.'

(v. 9 So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha.

(v. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, 'Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.' "

ELISHA TELLS KING JORAM NOT TO FEAR, HE WOULD CURE NAAMAN AS A TESTIMONY AS PROPHET OF THE GREAT GOD OF ISRAEL; NAAMAN VISITS ELISHA AND IS GIVEN HIS CURE INSTRUCTIONS

[BKC, cont.]:

"When Elisha learned of Joram's anxiety over Ben-Hadad's letter he sent the king a message not to worry. If Joram would send Naaman to him the prophet would cure him. Naaman would learn, even if Joram had not, that there was a true prophet in Israel [and his God was the God of Israel, the only God]. Before long Naaman and his whole retinue arrived at Elisha's door.

Not at all awed by the great general, Elisha did not even go out to meet him; instead he sent a messenger to convey his simple 'prescription'. Naaman was told to dip seven times in the Jordan River and he would be free of his disease. The cure lay not in the water of the Jordan but in obedient faith in God's promise through His prophet."

[2 Kgs 5:11-14]:

(v. 12) 'Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?' So he turned and went away in a rage.

(v. 14) So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean."

NAAMAN RESPONDS AT FIRST WITH ANGER BUT HIS OWN PEOPLE CONVINCE HIM TO COMPLY AND HE IS MIRACULOUSLY HEALED: A TESTIMONY TO THE GOD OF ISRAEL AND A MESSAGE TO AN ISRAEL IN APOSTASY WHO KNEW NO SUCH CURE

[BKC, cont.]:

"Naaman turned from Elisha's house angry for two reasons:

(1) His pride had been offended by Elisha's... [indirect] treatment of him; he had expected a cleansing ceremony in keeping with his own dignity.

[Not considering that this man Elisha had great stature being a prophet of the God of Israel through whom His prophet Elisha held the answer to his return to health and also the potential to deliver Israel into military victory as happened when Aram attacked Israel the last time with overwhelming forces and was completely defeated twice, (1 Kgs 20)]

(2) He resented having been told to wash in a muddy river that he considered inferior to the Abana and Pharpar.... rivers in his hometown; the water of the Jordan, he thought could not possibly do him any good.

The commander's servants, however, had not been personally put down as their master had, and could view the situation more objectively. Approaching him tenderly they appealed to him as a father to be reasonable. They pointed out that it was not as though Elisha had requested something difficult ("some great thing"). What harm would there be in giving his remedy a try? Undoubtedly feeling rather ashamed Naaman humbled himself and obeyed the word of the Lord. As He obeyed in faith he was cleansed. God did even more for him and restored his flesh to its soft boyhood texture. God had prescribed that he wash seven times...

[Just as the boy who was earlier raised from the dead sneezed a significant 7 times, (ref. 4:18-37) - a repetitive theme the number seven frequently occurring whenever God's miraculous handiwork is to be made evident to man]

...to indicate that the healing was completely a work of God..."

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MIRACLE

[BKC, cont.]:

"The fact that in Elisha's day an Aramean leper was healed whereas no Israelite leper was (Luke 4:27) points up Israel's apostasy."

[2 Kgs 2:15-18]:

(v. 16 But he said, 'As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing.' And he urged him to take it, but he refused."

NAAMAN URGES ELISHA TO ACCEPT A GIFT OUT OF GRATITUDE AND TESTIFIES TO THE GOD OF ISRAEL AS THE ONE AND ONLY GOD; BUT ELISHA SUCH AS THE TRUE PROPHET HE IS DECLINES THE GIFT OUT OF TESTIMONY TO THAT SAME GOD

[BKC, cont.]:

"Naaman returned from the Jordan to Elisha's house in Samaria (about 25 miles) with a heart full of gratitude and hands full of gifts. Rather than expecting Elisha to come to him he willingly stood before the prophet and testified to his belief that Israel's God is the only true God. (Unfortunately many in Israel, including her king, had not come to the same realization.) This was the highest purpose of Naaman's healing from God's point of view. Elisha agreed that the LORD Whom he served lives... But the prophet refused to accept any reward for his ministry. Naaman's urging did not budge Elisha. The man of God had not performed his miracle for reward but at the word of the LORD and he did not want anyone to think otherwise. The false prophets could easily be bought, but not Elisha."

THE PURPOSE THEREFORE OF MIRACLES WHICH ARE FROM GOD IS TO AUTHENTICATE THE PERSON, PLACE OR EVENT AS ONE WHICH IS OF THE ONE TRUE GOD

REF: MIRACLES

[2 Kgs 5:17-18]:

[BKC, cont.]:

"Since Elisha would not take anything, Naaman asked him to give as much earth as he could carry back to Damascus on two mules. He intended to use this in making an altar to the LORD. Many polytheists believed that no god could be worshipped except in its own land or on an altar built with the dirt of that land. [And Naaman's background is polytheistic] Naaman proposed to worship only Yahewh Himself (the LORD), but superstition shaped his thinking...

[An interesting point, since even today, newly born again believers still have to learn to replace their superstitions and false concepts with truths gleaned from an earnest regular study of the words of God's Word, (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16)

Ref. THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY]

...In the course of his official duties, however, he would have to give token respect to the god of his master the king. The god of Damascus was Hadad-Rimmon, a god of rain and thunder, here [in the text of 2 Kings] shortened to Rimmon. It was Naaman's duty to participate in this official worship with the king and probably other officials of state. The commander was not perpared to risk his life, as Daniel's three friends would (Dan 3:12), by refusing to bow before an idol...

[Consider the newly born again believer who refuses to risk his positions at work, in social groups, even in church groups, and stand up and declare his new position of truth relative to the Lord Jesus Christ and the truths of the words of God's Word

Ref: THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY]

(v. 19) He said to him, 'Go in peace.' So he departed from him some distance.

(v. 21) So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, 'Is all well?'

(v. 24) When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.

(v. 25) But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, 'Where have you been, Gehazi?' And he said, 'Your servant went nowhere.'

(v. 27) 'Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.' So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow."